| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bewilder, confuse |
| Synonyms: | baffle, bamboozle*, beat*, befog, buffalo, confound, deceive, elude, escape, floor*, fog in, hoodwink*, lick*, lie, perplex, puzzle, stump, throw*, trick |
| Antonyms: | clear up, enlighten, explain, explicate |
| Main Entry: | baffle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | perplex |
| Synonyms: | addle, amaze, astound, befuddle, bewilder, buffalo, confound, confuse, daze, disconcert, dumbfound, elude, embarrass, faze, floor*, get, mix up, muddle, mystify, nonplus, puzzle, rattle, stick*, stump, stun, throw |
| Antonyms: | clear up, enlighten, explain |
| Main Entry: | baffling |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | puzzling |
| Synonyms: | abstruse, bewildering, beyond one, confusing, difficult to understand, enigmatic, hard to understand, incomprehensible, mystifying, over one's head, perplexing, unclear, unfathomable |
| Antonyms: | clear, comprehensible |
| Main Entry: | bamboozle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | fool; cheat |
| Synonyms: | baffle, befuddle, bilk, con, confound, confuse, deceive, defraud, delude, dupe, flimflam, hoax, hoodwink*, hornswoggle, mystify, perplex, puzzle, stump, swindle, trick |
| Antonyms: | be honest |
| Main Entry: | bewilder |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | addle, baffle, ball up, befuddle, bemuse, confound, daze, disconcert, distract, floor*, fluster, mess with one's head, mix up, muddle, mystify, perplex, puzzle, rattle, snow*, stump, stupefy, throw, upset |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, orient |
| Main Entry: | confound |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | confuse |
| Synonyms: | abash, amaze, astonish, astound, baffle, befog, bewilder, blend, bug*, commingle, confute, discombobulate, discomfit, discountenance, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, fiddle, flabbergast, jumble, metagrobolize, misidentify, mix, mix up, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, rattle, screw up, startle, surprise, throw* |
| Antonyms: | clarify, clear up, enlighten, explain, make clear, relate |
| Main Entry: | confuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bewilder someone |
| Synonyms: | abash, addle, amaze, astonish, baffle, becloud, bedevil, befuddle, bemuse, cloud, clutter, complicate, confound, darken, daze, demoralize, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, disorient, distract, embarrass, faze, fluster, fog, frustrate, fuddle, involve, lead astray, mess up*, misinform, mislead, mortify, muddle, mystify, nonplus, obscure, perplex, perturb, puzzle, rattle, render uncertain, shame, stir up, stump, throw off, throw off balance, trouble, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry |
| Antonyms: | clarify, clear up, enlighten, explain |
| Main Entry: | cryptic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | secret; obscure in meaning |
| Synonyms: | Delphian, Delphic, abstruse, ambiguous, apocryphal, arcane, cabalistic, dark, enigmatic, equivocal, esoteric, evasive, hidden, incomprehensible, inexplicable, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexing, puzzling, recondite, secretive, strange, tenebrous, unclear, unfathomable, uninformative, vague, veiled |
| Notes: | cryptic coloration helps conceal an animal; phaneric coloration makes an animal stand out |
| Antonyms: | clear, obvious, plain, seen, straightforward |
| Main Entry: | dark |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hidden, secret |
| Synonyms: | Delphian, abstruse, anagogic, arcane, cabalistic, complicated, concealed, cryptic, deep, enigmatic, esoteric, intricate, knotty, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystifying, not known, obscure, occult, puzzling, recondite |
| Antonyms: | apparent, distinct, evident, manifest, plain, visible |